Bipartisan legislation would fund cybersecurity education

U.S. Reps Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn Thompson (R-PA), introduced legislation Monday that provides resources to develop cybersecurity education programs at technical schools.

The Cybersecurity Education Integration Act would establish a competitive grant program to add cybersecurity into new or existing Career and Technical Education (CTE) curricula. Cybersecurity is rarely included as part of training programs. It needs to be incorporated throughout the course of study rather than just as an additional class.

“Whether in our hospitals or our power grid, vital systems are increasingly being connected to the Internet,” Langevin, co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus and a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said. “These connections enable increased efficiency and better service, but they also provide pathways for cyber intruders to cause havoc. We need to offer better training for the workers who deal with these systems on a day-to-day basis, particularly in safety critical industries where lives can be put in jeopardy by malicious cyber actors. These operators have a strong culture of safety, and we need to make sure emerging cyber threats are included in that culture. They are the first line of defense, and our bill ensures they will have the skills they need to keep us safe.”

The bill authorizes $10 million in funding for the program, which would be open to educational institutions and local employers.

“Developing a 21st-century workforce to meet the technical demands our country is facing now – and in the future – is paramount,” Thompson, a senior Member on the House Education & the Workforce Committee, said. “We must ensure we’re protecting sensitive data and critical infrastructure from bad actors, and this bill is one step in the right direction. By enabling our next generation of learners to have the most sophisticated and comprehensive educational programs out there, we will be better prepared to protect our most critical systems and assets. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.”